The crystals that really heal

Crystal engineers have the power to create bespoke materials capable of advancing many scientific and technological fields. Prof. Liana Vella-Zarb and her team at PharmaTaxis use X-Ray crystallography and their knowledge of atomic blueprints to create new ways to carry medicine around the body, leading to safer, more effective treatments. We are surrounded by crystals, […]

Nobody’s perfect

Proteostasis- Understanding protein recycling, and how we can maintain the balance Ageing is inevitable; it seems obvious that as you age, you reach your peak and then decline into old age; exactly why this happens remains a mystery. During ageing, the cells in your body multiply, either replacing defective cells or helping you grow and […]

Would you like to see our guilt-free menu?

People love meat: OK not a universal truth in our modern society, but for the longest time it is hard to deny that that has been the general consensus for most of human history. We learned to hunt for our food, and then later, after we became a little smarter and lazier, we domesticated the […]

A little too much- The perils of some information

It’s never been easier to know a little about a lot. We live in an age of information overload, bombarded by 24-hour news cycles and endless refreshments of news cut down to 280 characters. Learning enough that we probably all think that our own opinions are valid, even if we do not have all the […]

Booze on the Brain- Does drinking alcohol kill brain cells?

Myth Debunked- For us of drinking age, partial to the occasional beverage; sometimes, after a few too many, we experience brain fog, decreased inhibitions, and unsteadiness. But has our night-on-the-tiles killed some healthy brain cells? Thankfully, no, unless you fell and knocked your head while drunk, or suffer from a particular genetic disorder, while our […]

You’ll have to speak up, I’m a little death!

As she lights the candle, her nostrils fill with cranberry smoke. “Are you sure this will work with scented candles?” “I’m sure spirits from beyond the grave can’t tell if it smells like pumpkin spice in here or whatever …. it’s just for ambience or something like that” her friend replied, spreading out tiny tea-lights, […]

Apparitions Apparently

Lying in the dark, not quite asleep, not quite awake. You wait for sleep to gently lift you away. Suddenly a strange heaviness spreads throughout your body; you cannot move, trapped within yourself. Any sense of tranquillity has been taken from you, all that is left is inexplicable dread. You close your eyelids so tight […]

Venusians in the mist?

The search for life in our solar system has long been directed at Mars, with its icecaps and somewhat comparable conditions to Earth, it seemed like the logical (if not optimistic) place to look. However, for a long time, very little regard has been given to our neighbour on the other side; the second planet […]

In two minds?

We have all heard the myth of being more right-brained or left-brained, with all your creative thoughts emanating from the left half of the brain and the cold, hard logical ideas materialising from the right. However, the human brain is much more complicated than that, don’t believe that 10% BS, we actually need a lot […]

Alphas and betas and gammas…..Oh my

Myth Debunked- The idea of the alpha males and the top dog might have percolated through the zeitgeist, with the biggest, baddest, males living their best lives compared to lowly betas. And whereas this idea is somewhat true in the animal kingdom, it is actually not really the case for dogs or wolves or humans. […]